Water cooled silencer



Dec. 29, 1942.

H. H. MAXIM WATER COOLED SILENCER Filed June '20, 1941 INVENTOR EMAMMLTMMAIM 7 @fifzvs x E W N w mm. c

Patented Dec. 29, 1942 WATER COOLED' SILENCER Hiram Hamilton Maxim, Hartford, Conn, assignor to The Maxim Sil'enccr Company, Hartford, (30:111., a corporation of Connecticut Application June 20, 1941, Serial No. 398,876

7 Claims. 1 (Cl. 18157) This invention relates to silencers particularly intended to be run wet; that is to say, with a jet of water mingled with the gases to quench sparks, cool the gases, and thus enhance the silencing action by causing the gases to contract. silencers are particularly useful for marine work, and the present silencers are especially adapted for use on submarines, where the silencers are flooded when the vessel submerges and must be formed so as to promote ready drainage. One object of the invention is to construct a multichamber silencer of this general type so that the flow into, between, and out of the chambers is through a large number of paths of differing lengths, whereby gas slugs will be broken up and the creation of sound impulses by these slugs impinging suddenly upon the open air prevented. Sound waves present in the gas stream are also blocked off by being passed through a plurality of paths somewhat analogous to a Quinke filter using a large number of tubes. Additional objects will appear from the following description and claims.

Referring to the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal section through a silencer embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view on line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are sections respectively on lines 33 and 44 of Fig. 1,

The silencer comprises a generally cylindrical casing I!) to which are secured end headers H and I2. To the header H is secured an inlet conduit l3 having an inwardly flaring portion M secured as by struts IE to a tube 16. An an nular gap l"! is left between parts It and It to Such provide a water entrance as will be described.

The tube It is supported within the casing by struts !8, Gas entering the tube escapes both from its open end I9 and from lateral holes or slots 26 into the surrounding chamber 2!. Partially encircling the end of the tube I6 is a truncated cylindrical member 22 preferably forming a structural part of an open ended cylinder 23 both of which are supported in the casing ID by struts 24 so as to leave an annular passage 25. A partition 26 separates the chambers formed by members 22 and 23 and the members themselves are provided with holes 21 opening laterally into the annular passage 25. An exhaust pipe 28, preferably flaring inwardly, opens at 29 adjacent the open end of the cylinder 23 and is provided with lateral openings 3!]. Its inner end is supported by struts 3 l.

A casing 32 formed of apartition 33 and a bridge piece 34 encircles the adjacent ends of the tube l5 and conduit 13, and may be coupled through a pipe 35 with a supply of water. The water fills the casing 32 and passes through the annular gap ll into intimate association with the exhaust gases. For the most part the water will be received within the hood-like member 22 and will be deflected downwardly, allowing the cooled gas to escape from the hood and to pass along the silencer without undue back pressure caused by entrapped water. The water ultimately passes through the exhaust conduit with the gases and through a drain 36 which also permits complete drainage of the silencer in case it is to be operated dry, Vents 31 and a hole 38 in partition 33 cooperate to the same end. Handholes 39 are preferably provided for cleaning at suitable points.

Acoustically the device functions as if it comprised two chambers All and 4| within the casing Ill separated longitudinally by the partition 26, Chamber 40 includes the space 2| surrounding tube IS, the space within the truncated cylinder 22, and the space between these two. Chamber 4| comprises the space within the cylinder 23 and the space outside conduit 28. Gas is admitted to chamber 40 through tube 16 and is exhausted from chamber 4| through conduit 28. The two chambers are connected in a novel manner, an annular conduit 25 extending from the partition to a point about half way along chamber M, and from the partition into chamber 40 a distance varying from zero to the full length of the truncated cylinder. The passage from one chamber to the other thus occurs along a large number of paths of different lengths, so that gas slugs will be broken up and sound waves blocked off to a high degree. This action is assisted by the lateral openings 26 and 30 in the inlet and discharge conduits and the openings 21 in the cylindrical members 22 and 23.

I claim:

1. A silencer comprising a casing, a partition dividing the casing into a pair of chambers, and an annular conduit extending past the partition from one chamber into the other, the conduit in at least one of said chambers being of a length varying progressively around its circumference.

2. A silencer comprising a casing, a partition dividing the casing into a pair of chambers, cylindrical members spaced from the casing and extending from the partition into the chambers, at least one of the cylindrical members being truncated obliquely, and inlet and outlet conduits opening respectively into the chambers.

3. A silencer comprising a casing, a partition dividing the casing into a pair f chambers, cylindrical members spaced from the casing and extending from the partition into the chambers, at least one of the cylindrical members being truncated obliquely, and inlet and outlet conduits opening respectively into the chambers, said conduits and cylindrical members being formed with lateral escape openings in their walls.

4. A silencer comprising a cylindrical casing, an inlet conduit extending into one end of the casing, an exhaust conduit extending into the other end of the casing, a cylindrical member within and spaced from the casing, and a partition within the cylindrical member, the cylindrical member being cut away obliquely at one side of the partition.

5 A silencer comprising a cylindrical casing, an inlet conduit extending into one end of the casing, an exhaust conduit extending into the other end of the casing, a cylindrical member within and spaced from the casing, a partition within the cylindrical member, the cylindrical member being cut away obliquely at one side of the partition, and means for injecting water into the inlet conduit.

6. A silencer comprising a cylindrical casing,

an inlet conduit entering the casing at one end and having an annular gap within the casing, a chamber surrounding the conduit adjacent the gap, means for admitting water into the chamber, an outlet conduit entering the other end of the casing, a cylindrical member within and spaced from the casing and truncated obliquely at one end to form a hood overlying the inner end of the inlet conduit, and a transverse partition within the cylindrical member adjacent the base of the truncation.

'7. A silencer comprising a cylindrical casing, an inlet conduit entering the casing at one end and having an annular gap within the casing, a chamber surrounding the conduit adjacent the gap, means for admitting water into the chamber, an outlet conduit entering the other end of the casing, a cylindrical member within and spaced from the casing and truncated obliquely at one end to form a hood overlying the inner end of the inlet conduit, and a transverse partition within the cylindrical member adjacent the base of the truncation, said conduits and cylindrical members being formed with lateral escape openings in their walls.

HIRAM HAMILTON IMAIUM 

